A former Goldman Sachs trader who helped lead the firm’s bets against subprime mortgages before the financial crisis asked a court to throw out an arbitration ruling denying him more than $20m in unpaid compensation.

Salem left the firm in May 2012, a year after a U.S. Senate subcommittee said he and other Goldman Sachs traders tried to manipulate prices of derivatives linked to subprime home loans in 2007 for their own benefit. The subcommittee’s assertions were based in part on Salem’s discussion of an attempted short squeeze in his self-evaluation, a finding which Salem said “put too much emphasis on ‘words,’” according to the Senate report.

The three-person Finra arbitration panel said in a March 17 decision to dismiss his case that even if the witnesses said what Salem maintained they would, he hadn’t established a legally enforceable claim for the bonus money.

Ian Bolland

A journalism graduate of Liverpool John Moores University. During his time at university, Ian spent time on work experience at local newspapers in Liverpool, Bolton and Wigan, and prior to that he did work for The Observer's 'fans verdict'. Ian also has interests in news, current affairs and business but mostly sport, including football, rugby league, cricket, golf and Formula 1, amongst others.